Transport

Keeping track of where public transport (mainly buses) currently are on routes can prove to be a troublesome task, especially if you're in an unknown location and aren't fully aware of local transport. This is where Windows Phone and travel apps come into play. We've covered a number of solutions previously, most catering for TFL (Transport for London), but we're now taking another look at Next Bus UK Live!

Nokia has published a post on its official Conversations blog detailing an update for its Transport (Transit in North America) app on Windows Phone 8, as well as new beta for Windows Phone 7.x. We covered the release of Nokia Transport 3 for the latest version of Microsoft's mobile platform earlier this month, but it's good to see Nokia pushing forward with further advances for consumers with older hardware.

Nokia has released a beta update to its Transport solution for Windows Phone. The app is now available as version 2.3 at Nokia Beta Labs for consumers to download and test out available new features. Nokia Transport is a useful tool at a Lumia owner's disposal that enables the user to plan a journey in a covered location using public transport.

Supporting trains, buses, walking, Nokia Transport can also relay what stations and stops are nearby using the location of the device. But the service doesn't simply halt at providing detailed information about public transport. When journeys are planned, Nokia Transport details the road / station of interchange, as well as the total estimated duration of the journey.

And of course, POI (Points Of Interest) are included. So, what's new in the 2.3 beta?

Nokia has announced today that version 2.1 of their Transport app for Windows Phone is now published and should be available to all Lumia smartphone owners in the next few days. Able to run on all Lumia Windows Phones, the Nokia Transport app is a must-have tool for anyone who requires directional assistance when on the move using public transportation.

Nokia joined Microsoft today at the Windows Phone 8 Summit to announce a handful of new apps and a few updates to existing apps. The new apps and updates are scheduled to hit the Lumia line of Windows Phones next week.

PlayTo is a DLNA app that will let you share music, videos, and photos wirelessly with other DLNA compatible devices.

Nokia Counter is an app that will let you monitor data and voice usage.

Updates will also be pushed through to Nokia Maps, Drive, Transport and the camera app. Here's what we know about the updates.

Nokia Transport will have the capability to pin a location to your Start Screen for quick reference and when tapped, will pull up all the transportation services within that area.

Nokia Drive will add a feature called My Commute that has your Windows Phone monitor your commuting patterns and map out the best route possible.

The camera app will get a few new extensions that will give the camera a self-timer, a burst mode, a panorama mode and Smart Group Shot. Smart Group Shot will take several pictures of the same group and select the most suitable facial expressions (avoiding subjects with their eyes closed, mouth open, looking away, etc.)and combine it all into one shot. You can also choose which facial expression to use as well.

Details on when these new apps and updates will become available was left at "starting next week". We aren't sure if we'll see all hit at once or a few at a time over the next few weeks. As details come into better focus, we'll pass it on.

Nokia has unleashed version 2.0 beta of their Transport app for Lumia Windows Phones. We previously looked at leaked improvements detailed over at a Russian Windows Phone forum earlier in the month. The app provides public transport information and guidance when attempting to reach a destination in a supported location (see our early hands-on).

What's new in version 2-point-oh?

Find nearby stations, departure times and even types of transit lines available around your location.

A Russian Windows Phone community has published some details regarding upcoming updates for both Nokia Drive and Transport. The manufacturer has been praised by Lumia smartphone owners for the inventory of apps available in the Nokia Collection. So what's new in version 3 of Nokia Drive?

The application "learns" based on the style of driving by

Time travel and the density of traffic movements are tracked in real time, displaying information on the "live" tile

Automatic determination of time of day, with the change of color scheme cards

Manual adjustment of routes

Off-line favourite lists with the possibility of fixing tiles on the desktop.

As for version 2 of Nokia Transport, which is dedicated to public transportation (including bus and train schedules for more than 500 cities):

For those of you lucky enough to have a Nokia Lumia device and happen to live near an urban center around the world, you may want to take a peek at Nokia's latest software release, Nokia Transport (see our earlier hands on video)

Continuing with their geolocation focus for apps, Nokia Transport combines their location-finding abilities with Nokia Maps to deliver an app that helps you navigate around your city's public transit system. The app is simple enough: it detects your location, you enter your destination and it plans your route for you using trains, buses and walking. Those routes are then displayed in a time sequence for the next few hours, letting you better plan when you want to leave, how long your trip will be and when you will arrive.

With a strong, bold Metro look, the app is certainly very stylish and fast to use. Nokia Transport was demoed at Mobile World Congress last month and had been in beta since then with the final version being approved in the last few days for public release. While the app is nice, like other Nokia offerings e.g. Nokia Drive, it lacks contact-lookup which is really frustrating if you want to visit a friend or a saved establishment from your People Hub. In that regard, we still see some room for improvement.

Also, your accuracy of the travel plans may vary. A favorite pastime of New Yorkers is to debate the best ways to get some place since there are so many trains, subways, buses, streets and taxis around. In that regard, Transport falls short at times e.g. I live literally 3 minutes from a major LIRR train station but Transport all but ignores its existence, instead making me drive 15 minutes to Hicksville for the same train. From that perspective, Nokia Transport is literally useless for me to get to the city.

Still, the app is free and completely unique, making it a great offering from Nokia. We also really like the ability to pin routes for later use to your Start screen--a nice touch. Pick it up here for free in the Marketplace (only for Nokia devices).

Besides all of the new phone goodness today, Nokia also showed off a few new apps heading down the pike for their Windows Phone users. One of those is Nokia Transport, an app dedicated to public transportation including bus and train schedules for more than 500 cities--something us urban folk desperately need. The app nails down your position and shows you the nearest stops and schedules around you, allowing you to save and even pin to your Start screen a route of you choices. That Live Tile can then flip around showing you the next train or bus always keeping you in the loop.

Nokia Reading is an eBook app that also supports audio books. It turns out it runs through Nokia's store where you can browse for new books, including a lot of free ones, save and basically use it as solid eReader. The selection of books looks decent enough but we'll have to see more when it is closer to launch.